Out of the Mouth of Babes
by beaglelover719
Summary: JJ and Hotch get some dating advice from Jack and Henry. AU Hotch/JJ pairing. Fluff.
1. Chapter 1

**Out of the Mouth of Babes**

**Disclaimer: Not Mine**

**A/N – just a short little four parter. Not sure where this came from but the fact that the teacher on Wednesday's episode had the hots for Hotch (and who could blame her) had me chuckling. AU obviously…**

**Chapter One**

"You know who you should date dad?"

Hotch had been enjoying a scotch with Dave and explaining where his relationship with Beth Clemmons had gone off the rails. He completely forgot that his inquisitive son was in the house and tended to hear and question everything.

Hotch looked over to find his son staring up at him devotedly. He could only imagine what kind of choices his boy might pick. His third grade teacher, the school nurse, or, heaven forbid, his Aunt Jessica. So, with not a little trepidation, he asked. "Who's that son?"

Happy that his dad was willing to take his advice Jack chirped, "JJ."

Hotch blinked as Dave choked back laughter. He hadn't even considered that his son would come up with the attractive blonde, although he had to admit it was a very good choice. "Gee Jack, that's not really possible." He stated, trying to let the boy down easily.

Big, blue inquisitive eyes peered up at him. "How come, dad?"

"Yeah dad, how come?" Rossi goaded.

Hotch glared at his friend before turning to his son, "Well."

"You like JJ." It was a statement, not a question.

He didn't hesitate when he responded, "Of course I do." It was a more than a little disconcerting that his son picked up on his attraction for his coworker.

"Of course he does." Dave echoed, enjoying his friend's discomfort.

Jack smiled widely. "She's really pretty. Kind of like a princess."

Hotch couldn't help grinning at his young son's enthusiasm. "Yeah, she is really pretty, pal. But.."

"She is very attractive, Jack. That is an _excellent_ choice for your dad."

"And she's really nice dad. She always talks to me and when I fell at Uncle Dave's she cleaned my knee and put a bandage on it _and_ kissed it better."

The adoration was clearly evident. JJ had stolen his son's heart. "That was very nice of her."

"Plus she's a nice mommy." The statement came out softly.

The words cut through him as he realized that his son obviously missed his mother. "Yeah, she is buddy."

"I like JJ."

He could only sigh and admit. "I do too, pal."

The agreement had his son ecstatic, "Great! Then why don't you marry her?"

"Wow! That is a really good idea, Jack." Rossi agreed with a mischievous grin, earning yet another frown from his friend.

Hotch could only blink as his son had gone from dating to marriage in one giant step and nothing he could think of to say was extracting him from this mess. "Jack, I can't marry JJ."

"Well not _now_ dad, first you have to date her. Then you get to marry her." Jack explained, clearly thinking his father was beyond stupid. "You should call her and ask her to come over for dinner."

"Dinner is another great idea!"

Hotch shot another warning glance which Dave chose to ignore. "I don't' think…"

"Me and Henry can play cars while you kiss JJ."

"Henry and I." Hotch automatically corrected while Dave erupted in a fit of glee.

"Sure, okay, dad, whatever. Are you going to call?" He thoughtfully handed Hotch his cell phone. It was apparent his son had put some thought into this.

Hotch sighed. "Jack I can't date JJ because JJ works for me. Do you understand that?"

"You could switch jobs with Uncle Dave." The young boy suggested, clearly not seeing an issue.

"He's really thought this whole thing through." Dave said with a grin, unknowingly echoing Hotch's thoughts. "You know, that's not exactly a bad idea."

"Please don't encourage him." Hotch told the older man as his son looked on expectedly.

"What could one dinner hurt?" Rossi scoffed.

Hotch wasn't quite sure how it happened but between the pair of them they managed to convince him to call JJ and ask her over for dinner. He knew that she was surprised and more than a little intrigued by the call. He wasn't sure if it was that or the encouragement of her young son that prompted her to accept the invitation.

"This is a bad idea, Dave." Hotch told the man that was still hanging around.

"Who are you trying to convince, me or yourself?" Rossi smiled cagily.

Hotch frowned. "There are any number of reasons that this isn't a good idea."

"Why don't you focus on the reasons why it is a good idea instead?" The older man suggested.

"Such as?"

"Well let's start with the fact that you are attracted to JJ." His look dared the younger man to deny it.

"She works for me, Dave."

"There are at least a dozen remedies for that. Transfer her to Morgan." There was merit in the suggestion. They brandied the idea around before they just never followed up on the administrative part to actually make it happen.

Hotch sighed. "She's a decade younger than me."

"We should all be so lucky." Rossi scoffed. "That's all you got?"

"JJ needs someone better than a broken shell of a man who's afraid to commit to a relationship. I don't want to ruin the friendship that we already have."

At this Dave rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me you're going to believe that crap that Beth spewed. Hotch you weren't interested in committing to a relationship with Beth because you entered the relationship with one foot already out the door. Your relationship with Beth didn't work because you were two fundamentally different people and you wanted different things. Not to mention you live in DC and she lives in New York. It was doomed for failure from the get go."

"If you thought that was true why didn't you say anything?" Hotch queried.

"Honestly? I never expected it to last this long." He shrugged. "That was one benefit of the long distance romance." He leveled a look at his friend. "Why don't you admit it?"

"Admit what?"

"You're attracted to JJ. You've been attracted to her for a long time."

"Fine, I'm attracted to JJ." He conceded to his friend. "I don't see where that makes a difference."

Rossi slung a companionable arm across Hotch's shoulders. "I'm going to tell you a story."

"Ah, jeez." Hotch sighed, not sure what his friend would come up with. In almost 60 years of living he had quite a few stories.

"No, seriously. You know my reputation, it was well earned. But what you don't know is I was in love with Erin. True, honest to God love." He paused for a moment in remembrance. Then he slowly started to weave his tale. "Back in the day when we were both up and coming we had a fiery love affair. It was perfect." He smiled rakishly. "Well, it was right up until she told me that she wanted more and I felt like I was at a place in my life where I couldn't give her what she wanted." He sighed. "I thought she would be angry for a while then things would go back to normal between us." He gave a sad smile. "But she didn't. She walked away and was married to another man before I could catch my breath and even attempt amends."

Hotch scowled. "I'm very sorry, but I'm not getting the morale of this story."

Rossi scowled at him for the interruption. "The point is, I was damn lucky to have been given a second chance. You know, had things not turned out the way they had I would have married her this time."

He hadn't realized that and he was truly sorry for his friend's loss. "Dave."

Rossi shook his head, not wanting or needing the pity he clearly read in his friend's eyes. "The morale, my friend, is life is short. Sometimes you just have to take that risk. Put yourself out there."

Hotch let out a long suffering sigh. "We're putting the cart before the horse. Even with me admitting to you that I am very attracted to JJ, and yes, I have been for years, it doesn't mean anything. She might not be so crazy about the idea of dating me."

The older man gave him a sly smile and a pat on the back. "I think you're in for a pleasant surprise, pal."

"Is this your Italian intuition?" Hotch mocked.

"JJ's interested. Sure right now the curiosity is driving her but let me tell you this, if she wasn't interested, she wouldn't be coming over."

Hotch considered it for a moment. He knew that JJ was intrigued but he thought it had more to do with the actual invitation than the person extending it. "So what do I do now?"

Rossi shrugged, "What do you normally do?"

"The fact that I'm taking dating advice from my son might be the first clue that I'm a little out of my element here."

"Fair point."

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Out of the Mouths of Babes **

**Disclaimer: Not Mine, except for any mistakes. I totally own them. ;)**

**Chapter Two**

"So he just asked you over for dinner? Like completely out of the blue?" Garcia's tone indicated her level of disbelief over the situation.

JJ looked over at her friends. They planned an afternoon out and were already in route to her house when she had gotten the call from Hotch. "Yeah."

"What do you suppose it means?" Garcia asked, with a frown.

"Don't you think the better question is what does JJ think it means? After all, she's breaking plans with us to have dinner with Hotch." Emily looked at her friend pointedly.

The blonde in question blushed. "He sounded odd. Like maybe he needs a friend. We _are_ friends you know." She defended.

"Maybe he needs a friend with benefits." Emily cracked and watched as the rosy color on her friend went to a fiery red. "Oh, would you look at that! I think that is a role that you would be interested in fulfilling!"

"I don't know what you're talking about." JJ replied stiffly.

"Oh my stars!" Garcia exclaimed, taking a hard look at her friend. "You like Hotch! I mean you really like Hotch. Like you want to –"

"I like Hotch, too!" They had completely forgotten that they were not alone in the Jareau household. Young Henry had just come for his bedroom in time to overhear the women's conversation. Thankfully hearing and comprehending were still two separate issues.

"We're going to have dinner with Hotch and Jack!" The young boy informed his honorary aunts.

JJ sent a glared warning Garcia's way. "As I explained to you, I would have had to cancel anyway. Will got called into work."

"Yeah, and I can tell that you're so broken up about it." Emily chided. "Come on, just admit it, you're interested. Otherwise you would have had Reid babysit Henry and still come out with us."

"I'm – curious." JJ went so far as to acknowledge.

"Me too." Pen snorted. Then after making sure that Henry wasn't present she added, "I'm curious to know if Hotch is a good kisser. The man's lips are always so straight, I'm not sure he can pucker."

JJ snorted. "Oh for heaven's sakes Pen, there isn't going to be any kissing."

"How come? I bet Hotch would like a kiss. I always like your kisses." Her son made the announcement as he raced in from the kitchen and back up the stairs.

JJ's eyes went round as Pen gasped out, "He came from nowhere, I don't even know how he heard that!"

"Oh great, now he's going to tell Will and Will is going to be all 'So what's the deal with you and Hotch' and there is no deal." JJ huffed. "Oh God! What if he says something to Hotch?" She knew her young son well enough to understand there was a possibility.

"Will or Henry?" Emily asked, amused by the fact that JJ was so rattled.

"Either! I have to cancel."

"You know, it occurs to me that you wouldn't be so flustered if you hadn't considered what it would be like to kiss Hotch." Garcia pointed out.

JJ frowned in annoyance. "Oh please, of course I've wondered. It would be odder if I claimed I didn't wonder. He's a very attractive man. I'm not blind." She blew out a breath. "Besides we all know that nothing is going to happen between me and Hotch."

"I know nothing of the sort." Emily refuted. "I mean, he didn't ask me over for dinner." She looked at Garcia. "Did you get an invite, Pen?"

"Whatever. You know that Hotch is as by the books as they come. He would never do anything to compromise himself or me." She could tell by the way they both deflated they agreed with her assessment. "I'm sure he just thought it might be nice to have dinner with an adult that had a child for Jack to play with. He needs a friend. Which I am."

"Fine." Garcia groused. "But admit the truth, there is a small part of you that wishes this really was a date."

One slim shoulder lifted in a shrug. "Come on, Pen, he's pretty much what ever single woman is looking for: he has a good job, he's incredibly easy on the eyes, he's a super nice guy, he has a good sense of humor and he likes kids. In my books that's a perfect package. So sure, you're right, I wouldn't mind dating Hotch."

"You forgot to mention the fact that you've been fantasizing over him for years." Emily added dryly.

"Oh like I've never seen you ogling Derek." JJ snapped, not liking having been called out on her fantasy.

"This isn't about me, it's about you." Emily reminded her. "And I've seen you eyeballing Hotch's ass more times than I care to remember."

"Well that's part of the easy on the eyes package." JJ mumbled before her frustration bubbled over. "Look, I honestly don't know why Hotch called me. Am I interested in finding out, yes. Is there some part of me that hopes it's because he's secretly interested in me, hell YES! There, fine, I admitted it. So tomorrow when I'm drowning my sorrows in a bottle of wine because he wants dating advice to attract a woman that's not me, or worse a sitter for Jack so he can go and shlep it to someone, who again is not me, I would appreciate if the two of you would be here to console me."

They all sat quietly for a moment after her outburst. "Maybe you should wear something sexy." Garcia said. "Just in case."

"Oh man, can we please just forget I said anything?" JJ whined, dropping her head into her hands, wishing she would have kept quiet.

Emily looked at Garcia and grinned. "It's like she forgot who she was talking to." She laughed over at JJ. "No sweetie, we can't. This is freaking huge. You've got it bad for Hotch! Much worse than we imagined."

She ignored the comments. "Shouldn't you guys be leaving for your shopping spree?"

"Like we would leave you alone when you have to prepare for your big maybe date." Garcia objected. "We've got some work to do." She reached over and pulled JJ out of her seat and headed towards the stairs.

"Come on. It's just dinner." JJ scoffed. "He' probably going to order pizza. We'll eat off of paper plates."

"Ooh, you're going to want to go easy on the garlic." Emily stated, following behind her. "You know on account of all the possible kissing."

She wasn't sure how they managed it but they examined every article in her wardrobe before finally settling on a cute summer skirt with a matching cotton twinset and hugged her body showing off her curves to an advantage. They finished the outfit off with a pair of strappy sandals that did wonders for her calves.

"Are you sure this isn't too much?" She questioned as Garcia wielded the straight iron on her hair.

"No, it's casual. You look good. Nothing vampy but enough to make him take a second look. Hold still." Emily commanded as she applied liner to her eyes.

"I don't ever wear this much makeup. He's going to think something of it."

Emily ignored her and continued to buff and polish her. "You were going to go out with the girls before Will bailed on you."

"Well I guess that's true, but if I say that won't he think I'm not interested in being there at all?" JJ asked.

"Play it by ear, Jayje. He probably won't say anything about your appearance."

"Well that's encouraging." She grumbled as she smoothed her skirt nervously.

"But if he does that will be a clue that he's interested." Garcia continued. "If you show up and he's got a box of pizza and a six pack of beer you might want to get that bottle of wine ready."

"God, I should have never agreed to dinner!" She protested again, feeling very apprehensive about the upcoming evening.

Emily chuckled at her dramatics. "Don't be ridiculous. If you didn't you'd always wonder what you missed."

"Well if I go and he's got pizza and beer I'm going to be pissed." She complained as she stood up. "Ugh. Why did I let myself listen to you guys? He's not interested in me. This is just dinner with a friend and her son, nothing more, nothing less."

Pen and Em shared a look before saying, "Okay."

"Stop saying that in a patronizing tone!" She looked at herself in the full length mirror. "He's going to think I'm hitting on him."

"Maybe he needs a little encouragement." Emily offered, then she shared a smile with JJ. "You're making too much out of this. Just go and have a good time. You like Hotch. Even in a non-romantic way, he's your friend. Maybe you're right, he just wants a friend to talk to and he reached out to you."

JJ frowned, all their flip flopping was making her dizzy, "So you really don't think he's interested?"

"Honestly Jayje," She shrugged, "I don't know. I hope so. I think you would make a good pair but who knows, we probably got carried away. We tend to do that sometimes." She looked at her watch and started to usher her friend out the door.

"Oh." It was clear she wasn't happy with that parting thought.

"Right." Garcia agreed, giving her a comforting hug. "But it's a good thing your lingerie matches just in case." She teased gleefully.

"And I put some provisions in your purse." Emily confided. "You know, just in case. But don't be too easy, make him work for it."

JJ couldn't respond as Henry was bounding down the steps, excited to be leaving. Garcia squeezed the little boy tightly. "Have fun tonight." She winked at JJ. "You too, mama." She blew her a kiss.

JJ ignored her and reached in her purse for her car keys where she saw the handful of Trojans that Emily obviously placed there. "Oh, I hate you both." Now she was no longer imagining kissing Hotch, now she was envisioning them tangled up naked in one another. Great.

**Thanks for reading! A big thank you for those that have left feedback and/or are following the story. I really appreciate the support!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Out of the Mouths of Babes – Chapter Three**

**Disclaimer: Not Mine**

**A/N – Un-beta'd all the mistakes are mine. I try really hard to check for and correct any mistakes. Nothing is worse than realizing you missed an error you should have caught!**

**Poor JJ gets really disillusioned in this chapter. I have tweaked and played with this all week and I finally figured out that one of the reasons I'm not nuts about this chapter is because it ends on a dismal note. I still struggle with multi chapter fics because I never know when to break. Sorry! However, I think this was the best spot so I'm sticking with it. Hope you enjoy anyway…**

Henry was in his glory on the ride to the Hotchner residence, nothing could dampen his spirits, not even a side trip to the grocery store. He repeatedly told JJ over and over again how excited he was to be seeing his friend Jack. JJ could only hope that the older boy didn't grow weary of the younger boy's exuberance.

"Are you excited to see Hotch?" He asked his mother happily.

"Sure buddy." She felt a nervous flutter and cursed her friends once more. She'd made too big of a deal out of it. She misread the intent of the invitation because of her own long standing crush. God she hoped she made it through the evening without embarrassing herself.

She'd been wallowing in self-misery and almost missed Henry's question. "Do you want to kiss Hotch, mommy?"

JJ eyes flew to the rearview mirror to look at her son. "Henry, where would you get an idea like that?" She had desperately hoped he had forgotten that conversation.

"You were talking about kissing Hotch." He reminded her earnestly.

If she made it through the night she was officially killing Pen. "Oh. Well. Um. Pen and Emily were just teasing mommy they didn't mean anything by it. It was just a joke, but not a funny joke. I know you don't really understand what mommy is saying." She rambled.

"Okay mommy." His interest was swayed by a passing motorcycle.

Great, even her four year old wasn't buying her act of disinterest. "Hey buddy, do you think we could just keep that to ourselves? Mommy probably shouldn't have been talking about Hotch with Aunt Em and Aunt Pen. It wasn't nice and I don't want to hurt Hotch's feelings."

Big solemn eyes peered back at her. "But maybe Hotch wants to kiss you, too."

Now her son was in on it. The entire universe had it out for her. "Well maybe, but do you think we can keep this a secret?" She was really beginning to wish she'd never answered the phone. "It can be our special secret, okay buddy?" She finally managed to secure a tentative promise from her son and steer away from the topic of kissing. She could only hope it wouldn't come back to bite her later.

Fortunately the radio helped manage to distract him. JJ was pleased when one of the songs on the latest and currently Henry's favorite Disney movie came on. They were singing along happily to the Frozen soundtrack when they finally pulled in to the Hotchner drive.

Her son didn't wait to walk with her, unbuckling himself from his car seat he was racing up the sidewalk as soon as the car was in park and ringing the doorbell.

Hotch was laughing at something Henry said when he straightened and saw JJ. She thought she detected a flicker of interest but she may have been imagining what she wanted to see. He was wearing a pair of faded Levi's and a blue oxford, rolled up at the sleeves. She resisted the urge to wipe her mouth – just barely. Good lord the man should always wear blue.

"Hey." She smiled at him and finally managed to speak. "I wasn't sure what you were planning so I took a chance and brought a bottle of red wine." She held out a bottle to him then presented a pastry box as well. "And cupcakes for desert. I thought that would be safe. Henry can't resist them."

"You didn't have to bring anything, JJ." He ushered her in the door. "I have steaks for the grill, along with baked potatoes and a salad." He gave her a lopsided grin that set her heart racing. "That's about the extent of my culinary skills."

It wasn't pizza and beer! She had an urge to excuse herself so she could hide in the bathroom and text her friends to help decipher what that meant. Then she saw the table. He hadn't used fine china but there were no paper plates in sight and a lovely bouquet of flowers sat in the middle, flanked by a pair of long taper candles. She looked at Hotch curiously.

"Jack helped set the table."

She wasn't sure what to make of that announcement or the slight tinge that colored his cheeks. "It's lovely." She couldn't say anything else as a rambunctious seven year old was making his presence known.

"Hi JJ! I am so glad you and Henry came over tonight." Unlike his father he was openly affectionate as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "I helped set the table and make the salad!"

"I helped pick out the cupcakes!" Henry announced, not wanting to be left out.

Jack looked back at his father accusingly. "I told you cupcakes were better than a tart!"

Hotch shrugged guiltily and explained. "I got a fruit tart; I remembered how much you liked it when he had one for Alex's birthday."

"I did, I do." The thought that he recalled the fact and went to all the trouble of getting one for desert flustered her.

"Why don't you boys go and play for a while and I will let you know when dinner is ready?" The words were barely out of his mouth before they raced away. He turned and smiled again at JJ. "Would you like a glass of wine while I cook the steaks?"

"Sure, that would be nice." She followed him into the kitchen where she saw a bottle of wine already prepared along with two glasses. She studied him thoughtfully as he poured them each a full glass.

"Are you okay with sitting on the terrace while I cook? Hopefully the smoke won't bug you." He guided her out to the little patio where the grill was readied and sat her glass on the table by the little settee. "Have a seat."

She frowned as she sank into the cushioned seat. He seemed oddly nervous about something. "Why do I get the feeling you're buttering me up for something?" She watched as he flushed guiltily. "Hotch?"

He should have known that he wouldn't be able to manage a light flirtation without her calling him on it. He noticed her face when she'd seen the table. Especially when all he'd ever managed before was take out with paper plates.

He sighed. "I was hoping you'd let me fumble my way through this without calling me out on it."

"What exactly is _this_?" She wanted to know.

Get the office stuff out of the way first, clear the playing field. Rossi's voice was ringing in his head. "Well, I, uh, need to talk to you about some changes that are going to happen at the office."

JJ went ash white, recalling a conversation that took place several years prior. "Please tell me you're not transferring me to the Department of Defense again."

"What? No. Absolutely not. Nothing like that." He was quick to reassure. "I wouldn't do that do you. I hated the circumstances that forced my hand last time around."

"Whew. Jeez, you had me worried there for a second." She took a long sip of her wine. "Okay, so tell me, what kind of changes?"

Hotch busied himself at the grill for a moment as he answered. "Well, um, just some restructuring. I understand you would be unhappy about being transferred to DoD but how would you feel about a more internal transfer?"

JJ's brow furrowed as she considered what he was saying. "Internal? What do you mean?" Her eyes widened with insight as she recalled an earlier conversation. "You're transferring me to Morgan."

He watched as an expression too fleeting to name crossed her visage. "Not you specifically. The entire team. I mentioned it before."

"Yeah, I know." She took another sip from her wine trying to tamp down her disappointment.

He was puzzled by her reaction and his own inability to understand it. His own feelings impaired his ability to read hers. "JJ, does the idea bother you that much? Do you not think Morgan is capable of the job?"

She looked up to find him studying her. "Huh? Oh, no, it's not that. I just, I don't know. It's different. I know we discussed the advantages." She pushed herself out of the chair and went to stand at the end of the patio with her back to him. "So, are you going to have the rest of the team over for dinner to get their opinions?" She asked curiously.

He frowned as he expertly flipped the steaks. "I wasn't planning on it. Do you think I should?" Had he been paying attention he would have seen her shoulder droop in defeat.

"No, I don't think that's necessary. You know you didn't have to go to all this trouble for me." She responded a touch bitterly before reminding herself that he never implied anything other than a friendly dinner with their kids, she was the one that went off on a fanciful romantic delusion.

Unfortunately Hotch missed another sign, failing to hear the dejection in her voice. "It was no trouble. I like spending time with you and Henry, so does Jack. We're both glad that you could come over tonight." He assured her.

"Yeah, me too." She replied automatically, silently hoping she would get through the evening without any further misery.

**Thanks for reading! A big thanks to those of you that have reviewed and/or are following the story. Your interest is greatly appreciated.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Out of the Mouths of Babes Chapter Four**

**Disclaimer: Not Mine**

**A/N – Sorry I meant to have this out last week but life threw me for a loop. This is un-beta'd so any mistakes are mine.**

* * *

Hotch was quietly contemplative as he began clearing the table. He wasn't sure exactly what happened but he knew something obviously had. Dinner turned out to be just an okay event after such a promising start. The boys had been animated and chattered happily throughout the meal but JJ seemed subdued and a little sad, he was just plain confused.

"No, it's okay, I've got it." Hotch stated as JJ began to rise to help.

"I can help, Hotch." She gave him yet another smile that failed to reach her eyes.

He shook his head and gestured for her to remain seated. "It won't take me but a minute to put this all in the dishwasher. You stay put." He let out a frustrated sigh as soon as he was in the kitchen alone. He scowled as he tried unsuccessfully to pinpoint when the shift happened. She was fine when they first arrived, she had been happy and almost flirty. He'd seen the way her eyes lit up when she'd noticed the table, and again when Jack mentioned the tart. But when had it changed? He wished he could figure it out.

"Hey Dad."

He turned to find Jack scrutinizing him. "Hey bud."

"What'd you do to JJ?" Jack said accusingly. "She looks kind of sad."

Hotch wasn't surprised to find that his intuitive son picked up on their guest's mood. He shrugged and admitted. "I'm not sure pal. Maybe she just has a lot on her mind?"

His son titled his head questioningly then asked, "Did you make sure to tell her she looked pretty tonight?"

Hotch frowned, not happy with the interrogation or the assumption that whatever was wrong with JJ was his fault. "Um, I'm not sure – "

"Oh you didn't, did you?" Jack huffed disappointedly. "Dad, girls like to be complimented. Didn't you listen to Uncle Dave? She's never going to let you kiss her unless you start being a little nicer."

Hotch was just about to make an unflattering comment on David Rossi's infinite wisdom regarding the finer sex when a small voice piped up effectively stopping him from voicing something in front of his impressionable son that he would most likely regret later.

"Who do you want to kiss, Hotch?" Henry sat at the island with his chin propped in this hands carefully watching the pair.

Both Hotchner's turned to find Henry studying them with intense interest, he had been so quiet neither was quite sure how or when he got there. Jack looked up at his dad apologetically but before either of them could say anything Henry continued. "I sure hope it's my mommy. She was talking about kissing you with Aunt Pen and Aunt Em."

Jack swung back around to look at his father with renewed hope. "Did you hear that dad?" He exclaimed, extremely happy about the news.

Hotch placed a hand on his sons shoulder. "Calm down, bud, Henry's only four it's possible he might have misunderstood what he heard."

Jack looked at his young friend and realized there might be some truth to what his dad was saying. Before Hotch could say anything else he went over to the island. "Okay Henry, I need for you to concentrate real hard. What exactly did you hear?"

Henry, realizing now that he was the center of attention, got nervous. He wanted to be able to tell Jack everything but he didn't actually remember much of what his mom and honorary aunts were talking about. So he did the only thing he could think of. "MOMMY!"

Hotch understood what he was going to do about a second too late. Definitely too late to prevent JJ from racing into the kitchen and far too late to prevent Henry from blurting out. "Mommy tell Hotch you want to kiss him. I heard you, didn't I?"

Hotch watched in fascination as JJ looked at Henry then him with wide eyes, her face turning a lovely shade of red.

"I, uh," She looked back at Henry dumbfounded.

Hotch gallantly came to her rescue. "Why don't you boys go play for a little bit so JJ and I can talk? We'll call you in a little bit for desert." Hotch ushered them out of the room much more calmly than he felt. He waited as the boys sullenly left the kitchen, both unhappy to be excluded from the grownups talk. Then he watched as JJ paced the kitchen floor. Waiting her out, he poured them both a glass of wine.

JJ let out a nervous chuckle as finally she turned to face Hotch. "I, that is Emily and Pen," She accepted the glass of wine he held out to her. "Thanks." She took a sip and started over. "Uh, well, sometimes we say inappropriate things forgetting that little ears are always listening." The red in her cheeks flared once more.

"And in this particular instance you were discussing kissing me?" He prompted in wonder.

JJ shrugged, "We were trying to figure out why you invited me over to dinner. Had I known that it was only to let me know that you were moving the team to Morgan we probably wouldn't have made any wild speculations."

All at once his confusion cleared and he understood where he'd gone wrong. "Ah, well, you know, there are actually a couple of reasons that I want to move the team."

JJ nodded while she stared at the floor like she was waiting for it to swallow her up. "Oh, I know."

He continued as if she hadn't said anything. "Aside from the fact that it will free me up for other projects, Morgan is ready for the challenge; he deserves this chance."

He observed her closely as she sighed, obviously thinking he was chastising her. "I know. You're right. Morgan does deserve this opportunity and I'm sure he'll be great. I will support this decision, Hotch."

"Right. I assumed that you would, that you all would." He cleared his throat. "But I have to admit that I also had a selfish reason for wanting this move to occur."

JJ finally looked at him. "Oh Hotch everyone knows how much you do, no one would call this selfish."

He smiled at her warmly. "Thank you, that's nice." He stared at her intently. "But actually I was referring to the fact that I would no longer have any direct reports."

His comment obviously puzzled her as she frowned and looked back down at the floor. "Okay."

Since she didn't understand the implication of what that would mean he decided to spell it out for her. "Well, the thing is, since you no longer report to me I would be able to ask you out."

Her head snapped up and she gawked at him. "What did you say?"

She was looking at him rather oddly. "I said I would like to take you out." He repeated unsurely.

"You mean like on a date?" She screeched out.

Her tone made it clear to him that she didn't think it was a good idea. "Or maybe not. I don't want to make anything awkward." Although it was way too late for that he thought as she stood gaping at him.

JJ threw her hands up. "Wait. Stop." She took a big gulp from the glass she still held, nearly emptying the contents. "I need to make sure that I understand this. You want to go on a date. With me?" The expression on her face conveyed her bewilderment.

More than a little deflated by her response he inadvertently confessed. "Listen, I'm sorry. I'm not very good at this. I told Jack it wasn't a good idea when he suggested it."

Suddenly JJ eyes narrowed and she asked tersely. "O-kay, hold on. You want to go on a date with me because _Jack_ thought it was a good idea?"

It was clear he managed to say the wrong thing yet again. He was pretty sure that there was a lot riding on how he answered the question and he did his best to answer honestly. "No, well yes, but not entirely."

"Which is it Hotch?" One brow lifted awaiting his response.

"Jack overheard Dave and me discussing my lack of a love life this morning and he suggested that I date you." He glanced over at her. "My son's a little bit infatuated with you."

"Okay, that's – a little weird." She winced. "I mean, it's sweet and all, it's just a little strange that you would ask me out because your son has a little crush on me."

He felt the tips of his ears warm as he admitted. "Well I figured it was a case of like father, like son." He watched as she processed the comment.

"Oh." The blush was back. "You're not moving the team so you can date me?" She asked suspiciously.

He refilled her glass then gestured for her to take a seat on the stool then sighed heavily. "No. I'm not." He wasn't sure if he was offended that she would think he would make a change like that only to pursue her. "When Jack made the suggestion I said that it just wouldn't work because you work for me, and I wouldn't do anything to put you, or myself in that situation." He said a little stiffly. "I would never reorganize our team for my own personal benefit."

JJ gave a slight smile as she recalled having said the same thing to Pen and Em just earlier that day. "I know that. I'm sorry I would even question it."

"We did talk about it before." Hotch repeated numbly. "Dave reminded me that we already discussed the possibility of moving the team under Morgan. He'll take on more of a leadership role and I'll start doing some of the stuff that has been let fall to the wayside since Erin is no longer here." It truly was a logical solution.

"But won't you miss it?" JJ asked earnestly, knowing how much the man loved what he did.

Hotch sighed before answering truthfully. "Yes and no. I need to start looking to the future, JJ. I can't do this job forever and I've already been doing it a long time." He smiled at her. "I'm pretty good at justifying the need for the funding for our unit. I think I can still play a beneficial role to the team while making sure the BAU remains an elite unit within the FBI."

She returned his smile warmly. "I'm sure there is no one better suited for the job." She watched as he resumed loading the dishwasher and cleaning the kitchen effectively putting an end to the conversation.

As he continued his task of cleaning the dishes Hotch was relieved that JJ no longer seemed upset with him. While he was thoroughly disappointed that his romantic interest was not returned, he was now worried that his fumbling pursuit would result in the loss of their friendship. Wishing he would have thought his plan through more thoroughly he turned back to her to offer his regrets. "I hope this doesn't create any awkwardness between us." He stated solemnly.

"What do you mean?"

Hotch stopped what he was doing. "I would never put you in a situation where you felt uncomfortable to be around me, I hope you know that. I asked you out, you said no. I hope we can leave it there and remain friends. I would hate to lose your friendship."

JJ frowned. "Wait, when did I say no?" She watched as he fumbled the glass he was holding and it shattered on the floor.

"Shit." He looked at the mess then back to the woman, torn over what to do.

JJ got off of the stool and moved to the pantry where he kept his broom. She got back in time to watch him try to clear the glass with his bare hands.

"Ow. Aw, jeez. Shit!" He dropped the pile he had been accumulating in his hand and winced at the blood oozing from his finger.

"Watch out." She put her hand on his arm to help him stand then led him over to the sink. "Honestly don't you know any better than to pick up glass with your bare hands?"

"You kind of caught me by surprise." He told her as she gently inspected his hands.

"Yeah, I got that much." She paused to look him in the eyes. "I never said I didn't want to go out with you." She put his hand under the faucet and pulled a sliver of glass out of his skin. Then she turned the water on and put some of the antibiotic soap that was on the corner of the sink on his hands and cleaned the wound. "Bandages?"

Still stunned speechless he pointed at the cabinet to the left of the sink as she took a clean dish towel and dried his hand before getting the Band-Aid.

She grinned as she unwrapped it. "Captain America, how appropriate." She chuckled as she put a dab of Neosporin on the cut before tenderly putting the Band-Aid in place. "There, all better."

"Aren't you going to kiss is better?" His voice was husky with emotion.

She blinked up at him, a little surprised to find his face so close to hers. "I don't know, do you really think that's – "

His mouth cut off the rest of her sentence.

"I told you he was going to kiss her!" Jack whooped excitedly. "Wait till I tell Uncle Dave, he said not to get my hopes up cause my dad was kind of slow when it came to women."

"Are you done talking yet? Because I thought we were going to have cupcakes for desert?" Henry asked, worried more about the treat than he was what was going on with the adults.

JJ and Hotch broke apart and grinned at one another.

"I'll take care of the glass. You get the boys their cupcakes." JJ suggested.

Hotch had the boys sit at the island while he got them each a glass of milk and the coveted cupcakes. "So Henry, aside from wanting to kiss me what else did your mom and Penelope and Emily have to say?" He asked, feeling a touch cocky now that it was clear that JJ was most definitely interested.

"You might want to be careful." JJ warned. "I can start asking Jack the same question and I can guarantee you that he has better recall of what was said than Henry does." She sent a wink over Jack's way. "Right Jack? You can tell me what your dad and Uncle Dave said about me, can't you."

The boy nodded eagerly. "Well, daddy didn't really say a lot, me and Uncle Dave had most of the good ideas." Jack told her around a mouth full of cupcake.

"Jack don't talk with your mouth full." Hotch reprimanded while JJ moved over to where the little boy sat.

"What kind of ideas?" She asked with unconcealed interest.

"JJ." His tone held a note of caution.

The blonde grinned over at Hotch and shrugged innocently. "Hey, I just want to know what I'm in for."

Big blue eyes regarded her sincerely. "We just talked about kissing and getting married."

"Really?" JJ squeaked, looking back at Hotch with wide eyes.

Hotch chuckled. "Relax. Marriage is the next step in the progression from kissing for young boys." He moved over to where she stood and rubbed a hand down her back. "You might want to breathe, you're turning blue." He teased.

"Yeah, I think that may have backfired on me." JJ stated with a laugh.

Hotch smiled down at her. "So, about that date?" He asked.

"Yes, I would love to go out on a date with you." She replied warmly.

Jack sat and watched the pair happily. "Hey dad, if you and JJ do get married do you think we could have a baby?"

"Whoa, Jack, slow down pal, just because JJ and I are going on a date it doesn't mean we're going to be getting married let alone – "

"As long as it's not a girl baby." Henry stated with a sneer, joining the conversation and sharing his current dislike of all girls with the exception of his mom and her friends. "Maybe we can we get a puppy or kitty instead?" He asked.

Hotch turned to JJ with his hands up in the air. "I swear, we didn't say anything about babies. Heck, I wasn't even sure a _date_ was in the cards let alone anything else."

JJ giggled at the absurdity of it all and ran a calming hand down Hotch's back, mimicking his earlier action. "Well whatever happens, it sure won't be dull."

Hotch laughed down at her and promised, "No, it definitely won't be."

The End….

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Thank you for reading! A big thanks for those of you who left feedback and/or followed this story. I cannot being to express how happy that makes me. You all are wonderful!


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